Tico Tuesday, August 18th

I'm thankful for a slowly growing sense of community here. Even though I am only here for a few months, I know there are a lot of people here that care about me, and I am deeply grateful for that.

One group of people I feel I have started to bond with more are my fellow collaborators at the Centro Latino de Movilización (CLM). We have started gathering once a week to pray, and now we eat lunch together before we pray too. There is nothing like food to help bond people! And today, some of us went on a brief retreat to the same cold, beautiful, foresty camp (Kikotén) that I went to for the Avance prayer retreat last month. We read an article by the wonderful Henri Nouwen about the need for solitude, which prepares us for community, which leads us into ministry. An excellent read about the need to be rooted in God's love and not expect people to love us as only God can. That is our goal, to be rooted in God's love, to love others, and to practice gratitude and compassion and help others do the same. That is what we want everyone who comes to CLM to grasp and put into practice.
Tomorrow is the halfway marker for me in my time here in Mexico. I feel like so much has happened I should be more than halfway through, but I know God knows each day and what it will contain. I ask for your prayers for me on Thursday as I meet with the Regional Leader here and discuss how I can make the best use of the time I have left here. I will continue to collaborate at the CLM, but will get to know and support some other ministries too. Please pray for guidance and wisdom for this working out of the near future, as well as my next longer term ministry placement. The ball is slowly rolling, and I will continue to keep you informed as things come together. Thank you so much for your prayers! I thank God for hearing and answering them!
May we all continue to learn how loved we are by God and how to better love others,
Carrie